Suction cleaner



July 4, 1950 i K. M. HAMMELL SUCTION CLEANER Filed March 24, 1945 IN VENTOR. Ken/yer M f/ rrmzell.

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Patented July 4, 1950 SUCTION CLEANER Kemper M. Hammell, Detroit, Mich.,assignor to Eureka Williams Corporation, a corporation of MichiganApplication March 24, 1945, Serial No. 584,552

Claims. (Cl. 183-37) This invention relates to suction cleaners and hasparticular reference to certain new and useful improvements in theconstruction of tank type cleaners.

Principal objects of the invention are to provide:

A new and improved suction cleaner;

A new and improved suction cleaner of the tank type embodying a new andmore efficient dirt collecting means;

A dirt collecting means for a tank cleaner comprising a, single-use,disposable filtering element and dirt container, and means for readilyassembling the same and disassembling the same from a tank cleaner;

An improved construction for tank cleaners for increasing the effectivefiltering area thereof without increasing the overall size of thecleaner.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims and will be understood by reference tothe accompanying drawings, of which there is one sheet, which, by way ofillustration, show a preferred embodiment and the principles thereof andwhat I now consider to be best mode in which I have contemplatedapplying those principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodyingthe same or equivalent principles may be used and structural changes maybe made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe present invention and the purview of the appended claims. I alsocontemplate that of the several different features of my invention,certain ones thereof may be advantageously employed in some applicationsseparate and apart from the remainder of the features.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a tank type cleaner embodying theinvention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view illustrating certaindetails of the construction of a cleaner embodying my invention;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a part of a dirtcollecting element and filter for use in practicing the invention;

Fig. 4 is an end elevational view of the dirt collecting and filterelement shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the quicklydetachable coupling connection.

A tank cleaner embodyin my invention comprises a casing It provided withmeans such as runners l2 for supporting the casing for movement on afloor. The casing houses and supports a suitable suction creating meanssuch as an electric motor-driven fan, as is well known in the art, and adirt filtering and collecting element. The casing includes front andrear end bells l4 and I6, each of which is provided with an air port andsocket so as to permit the circulation of air through the machine, andsuch sockets are adapted for detachably receiving a coupling I8 carriedat one end of a, flexible hose, to the other end of which a. suctioncleaning tool may be attached. The front end bell l4 forms a removableclosure for the front of the casing and is detachably held thereon bymeans of several clamps 20.

The casing l0 may be provided by a cylinder 22 which defines a suctioncompartment 24 in which the dirt collecting and filtering elementindicated generally at 26 is arranged. The front end bell l4 includes aflanged rim 28 which forms an internal seat for a bag ring 30, such bagring when the end bell I4 is clamped to the cylinder 22 being clampedbetween the end of the cylinder and the seat formed by the flanged rim28.

The bag ring 30 forms a support for a ring or throat 32 which projectsrearwardly into the suction compartment 24 and forms a support for acage 34' of wire, such as screen wire or other suitable material. Thecage 34 forms a porous pocket within the compartment 24 and spaced fromthe walls thereof, the material of which the cage 34. is formed at theopen end of the pocket being suitably secured to the rearwardlyextending portion 36 of the ring or throat 32. The ring 32 is providedwith a series of apertures 38 which permit a substantially free fiow ofair from the space within the end bell l4 into the space in thecompartment 24 outwardly of the cage 34. The end bell M, as previouslyindicated, is provided with an air inlet opening or port 40.

A collar 42 is secured to the inside of the end bell and projectsrearwardly from the opening 40 so as to define a socket for receivingthe end of the coupling H3. The coupling may be frictionally secured orlatched in the socket for detachable connection therewith. A retainersleeve 44' is fitted over the collar 42 and removably secured thereon,such for example as by means .of a bayonet lock joint, the pin of whichis indicated at 4B. Thus the retainer sleeve 44 may be detached from thecollar 42 and the end bell by slight rotational movement of the sleeve44 relative tothe collar 42. The bayonet lock 46 is adapted to retainthe sleeve 44 assembled to the collar 42 and the fit therebetween issubstantially close so as to prevent the escape of any appreciablequantity of dirt laden air from the joint between the collar 42 and thesleeve 44 when the parts are assembled.

The sleeve 44 is adapted to telescopically receive a resilient sleeve 48of rubber or rubber-like material, one end of the sleeve 48 being madein the form of a rim 50 and cooperating with the outwardly flared end 52of the sleeve 44 to frictionally secure the sleeve 48 assembled on thesleeve 44. The sleeve 48 is detachably arranged in a collar 54 formingtheneck of the dirt collecting and filtering element 26. preferably isformed of paper or paper-like material. The normal outside diameter ofthe sleeve 41 is slightly greater than the normal inside diameter of thecollar 54. When the sleeve 48-is detached from the sleeve 44 it may bereadily inserted in the collar 54 by folding the sleeve 48 parallel withits axis and then allowing it by virtue of the resiliency of thematerial out of which it is formed, to assume its normal shape andexpand into firm frictional engagement with the collar 54.

The collar 54 is confined between the rim 59 of the sleeve and a head55, and thus is secured against separation although the frictional fitbetween the outer surface of the sleeve 48 and the inside of the collar54 should be sufiicient to frictionally retain the parts in assembledrelationship under the forces to which they are normally subjected inuse.

The collar 54 is arranged so as to define the air inlet to the dirtcollecting and filtering element 26 which is in the form of a bag ofpaper or other suitable material for filtering dirt out of the air whichpasses through the machine. Thebag 26 may be made in any suitable wayand have its inlet end folded in pleats, each pleat being glued orcemented together for closing such inlet end except for the opening inwhich the collar 54 is inserted. The collar 54 may be cemented orotherwise suitably secured in the reduced opening formed at the inletend of the bag and projects slightly therefrom so as to expeditesecuring the bag to the outside of the sleeve 48. The bag as illustratedin Figs. 3 and 4 is in its folded condition, it being understood that inuse the bag tends to assume a cylindrical cross section, although itwill be apparent that between the sleeve 48 and the throat 32 the bagwill taper in cros section.

Since :the space enclosed by the end bell l4 and ahead of the throat 32is connected with the suction compartment 24 by means of the openings38, it will be apparent that substantially all :of the surface of thebag 26 will be exposed to the suction effect of the motor driven fanwhichmay be arranged in the cleaner rearwardly of the suctioncompartment 24 and communicating therewith so that during operation ofsuch motor driven fan air will flow into the compartment through thecoupling I8, the sleeves 44 and 48, into the neck 49 of the bag, thencethrough the walls of the bag 26 directly into the suction compartment24, or through the neck 49 into the interior of the end bell l4 andthence through the apertures 38 into the suction compartment 24. Thedirt entrained in such air of course will be separated therefrom by thebag 26 and collected therein.

The bag 26 preferably has a length and circumferencematerially in excessof that of the The collar 54 cage 34 so that the filtering area of thebag 26 is greatly in excess of that of the cage 34, the material of thebag 26 being arranged in loops or folds so as to fit within the cage 34.As previously indicated, the cage 34 is formed of a material such asscreen wire which is sufiiciently porous so as to ofier substantially noresistance to the-flow'of air. One advantage of using material suchascreen wire isthat the form of the cage will be maintained and thescreen will provide a certain amount of mechanical strength forsupporting the bag 26 so as to prevent the same from becoming torn dueto impacts thereon 'by material entrained in the air which enters thebag '26. 'I contemplate, however, that the cage 34 may be made of anyother material, such as cloth or fabric mesh.

The bag 26, as previously indicated, preferably ismade of porous paperor paper-like material so that when the bag 26 is full of dirt orpartially full of dirt, it may-be discarded and a new bag substituted inplace thereof. The bag may be readily disassembled by the user of themachine by releasing the clamps 20 so a to permit the separation ofthe'end bell l4 from the casing l0. Then by grasping with the hand thesleeve 48 and the neck 49 and collar 54 of the bag 26, such partstogether with'the sleeve 44 may be turned so as to unlock thebayonet-coupling 46 so as to permit separation of the sleeve 44 from thecollar 42. After the end bell ha been separated from the bag, the sleeve'44 may be withdrawn from the sleeve 48 and thereafter the sleeve 48 maybe collapsed and readily separated from the collar 54. By reversing theprocess just enumerated, a new bag may be assembled in the machine.

It also is possible to separate the collar '54 from the sleeve 48without separating the sleeve 44 from the end bell by squeezing thecollar 54 so as to contract the sleeve 48, but it may be moreconvenient, particularly for assembling the parts, to separate thesleeve 44 from the end bell so that the end bell [4 does not limit theaccessibility of the parts of the coupling.

While I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is understood that this is capable of modification and Itherefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth butdesire to avail myself of such changes and alterations which fall withinthe purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a suction cleaner a casing having a compartment provided with anopening, a closure for closing said opening, 'a dirt filtering andcollecting element in said compartment and provided with an air inlet tosaid element; the improvement comprising said closure being providedwith a tubular part, a ring of resilient material having a slip onpulloif frictional securing fit on said tubular part so as to provide aquickly attachable and detachable connection between said part and saidring, said ring being coupled with the air inlet ofsaid dirt filteringand collecting element, said fit between said ring and tubular partsecuring said ring and bag in assembled relation with said tubular partduring operation of the cleaner, said closure being provided with an airinlet within the confines of said tubular part and which air inletcommunicates with the interior of said dirt filtering and collectingelement through said tubular part.

2. Ida suction cleaner a casing having a compartment provided withanopening, a closure for closing said opening, a dirt filtering andcollecting element in said compartment and provided with an air inlet tosaid element; the improvement comprising said closure being providedwith a tubular part, a ring of resilient material one end of which has atelescoping frictional securing fit on said tubular part so as toprovide a slip on-- pull off connection between said part and said ring,the other end of said ring being coupled with the air inlet of said dirtfiltering and collecting element, said frictional securing fit betweensaid ring and tubular part securing said ring and bag in assembledrelation with said tubular part during operation of said cleaner, saidclosure being provided with an air inlet within the confines of saidtubular part and which air inlet communicates with the interior of saiddirt filtering and collecting element through said tubular part.

3. In a suction cleaner an air conducting conduit terminating in asocket provided with a tubular part, a sleeve of resilient materialhaving a telescoping frictional securing fit on said tubular part inslip on--pull off relationship, a dirt collecting and filtering bag ofpaper material having an inlet opening detachably secured to said sleeveindependently of the connection between said sleeve and said tubularpart, and a suction compartment having an opening and a closure for saidopening, said socket being provided in said closure and said bag beingarranged in said compartment, said frictional fit between said sleeveand said tubular part securing said sleeve and said bag in assembledrelation with said tubular part during operation of said cleaner.

4. In a suction cleaner an air conducting conduit terminating in asocket provided with a tubular part, a sleeve having a frictionalsecuring fit on said part in slip on-pull 01f relationship so as toprovide a quickly attachable and detachable connection between said partand said sleeve, a dirt collecting and filtering bag having an inletopening detachably coupled to said sleeve independently of theconnection between said sleeve and said part, a suction compartmenthaving an opening and a closure for said opening, said socket beingarranged on said closure and said bag being arranged in saidcompartment, said frictional fit between said sleeve and said tubularpart securing said sleeve and said bag in assembled relation with saidtubular part during operation of said cleaner.

5. In a suction cleaner a casing having a suction compartment providedwith an opening, a ring removably arranged in said opening and havingair pervious means defining a pocket in said compartment, a closurecooperable with said casing for closing said opening and provided withan air inlet, a dirt filtering and collecting element in the form of abag arranged within said pocket and having an inlet opening, and meansfor detachably connecting said inlet opening of said bag to said closurecomprising a ring of resilient material having a slip on-pull offfrictional securing connection with a part of said closure and a quicklydetachable connection with said bag inlet opening, said frictional fitbetween said ring and said part of said closure securing said ring andsaid bag in assembled relation with said part of said closure duringoperation of said cleaner.

KEMPER M. HAMMELL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,124,684 Allen Jan. 12, 19151,999,826 Snell Apr. 30, 1935 2,022,250 Lofgren Nov. 26, 1935 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 469,379 Great Britain July 23, 1937

